SMALL POTATOES RECIPES

Steps:

• This works great as a stand-alone recipe, but also as a component in Jamie’s Celebration Roast from Together – see the full collection of menus here. GET AHEAD Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Try to choose small potatoes, give them a wash, and if you have any larger ones, cut them in half and use the flat side as a base. To make this process as simple as possible, place a potato on a board between the handles of two wooden spoons, so that when you slice down into the potato the spoons stop the blade from going all the way through. Carefully slice at just under ½cm intervals all the way along. Repeat with all the potatoes, placing them in a large roasting tray as you go. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, and roast for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are golden and tender. Remove and leave to cool. Twist each sausage in the middle so you can cut each one in half. Now, for a bit of fun, I like to use a small sharp knife to make an incision into each one, creating a little hole ready to stuff with whatever will elevate your sausages to an even higher level of joy. Cut the bacon rashers in half, then, working one at a time, press the side of your knife across each mini rasher to stretch it out. Place a sausage on each, wrap it up, then skewer with a cocktail stick or a sharpened sprig of rosemary. Nestle the wrapped sausages in among the cool potatoes, then cover and refrigerate overnight. TO SERVE Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Peel the garlic and pound up in a pestle and mortar with a small pinch of salt, then mix in the polenta and finely grate in the walnuts. Sprinkle over the potatoes, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. When the Epic mixed roast comes out, roast the potatoes for 1 hour, or until hot and crisp, and the sausages are golden and cooked through.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
  2. Peel the potatoes, cutting any larger ones so they’re all an even-size – twice the size of a squash ball is about right.
  3. Wash the potatoes in cold water to get rid of any extra starch then tip into a large pot, cover with cold salted water and parboil for 7 minutes, then drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for 3 minutes.
  4. Give the colander a bit of a shake to help chuff up the potatoes – this will help to make them super-crisp later on.
  5. At this point, you need to decide which flavour combo to go with. Tip the potatoes into a large tray in one layer, and add the fat – olive oil, butter or goose fat – then season really well with sea salt and black pepper.
  6. Toss the potatoes in the fat (you could get the potatoes up to this stage the day before, simply cover them with clingfilm or tin foil and pop in the fridge or in a cool place until needed), then roast for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden and three quarters cooked.
  7. Now’s the time for my trick. Gently squash each potato with a potato masher to increase the surface area – the more of your potato that’s in contact with the pan, the crispier it will be.
  8. Add 1 good lug of oil to a small bowl and pick and/or tear in the herbs. If opting for flavour combo 2, peel in a good few strips of clementine zest with a speed-peeler – you won’t eat these but they’ll add amazing flavour. Break up the garlic bulb, adding the unpeeled cloves to the bowl, along with a splash of red wine vinegar, then scrunch and mix it up a bit.
  9. Add your chosen flavour combo to the potatoes and give the pan a good shake, then pop back in the hot oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until gnarly, crispy, bubbly and delicious.
  10. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain off some of the excess fat, then tuck in!